Top Ten Things PR @ GSU-Topic of the Week

1. One of my favorite lessons this year had to be connecting my personal profile to LinkedIn. I have found boundless reasons to use LinkedIn. This website is the key to connecting with professional all over the world. The site allows you to upload your resume, create a detailed profile that has much more information than a basic resume would have and helps professionals connect with each other. I just received my first recommendation, very exciting. People who you connect with have the ability to write recommendations about you on your profile. This could prove very helpful in the future. Check it out at Linkedin.com

2. Resume writing is one of the most important tools a will come out of this class with. During the course we spent a lot of time studying the necessary parts of resumes, how to format resumes, how to print and present resumes. All of these details are very important because this simple piece of paper is your ticket to a job. Employers will judge you solely on this piece of paper. Thats scary! So take your time, do you homework and create a resume that represent who you are and the accomplishments that you have completed.

3. I read a book for this course that included tips for the Twitter user. The books was titled Twitter Power, by Joel Comm. I created a presentation for my class and introduced the book. It is a great source for information on how to use Twitter to sell your product. Twitter is a great tool for communication on a second by second basis. Firms can quickly communicate with their clients and stay on top of the game by ensuring the success of their products.

4. Interviewing procedures. Ahhh, the interview. This is not the time to be afraid of an interview people. If you are prepared and know what you are doing you will be very successful. The important thing to know is that preparation is a must. Study the company you are interviewing with so you sound like you’ve been doing your homework. Prepare a portfolio to present to you prospective employers. Bring business cards, and resumes to give to the people interviewing you. Have questions ready to ask, because you will be asked if you have any questions, don’t stumble here just have some ready in your head. Dress to impress, wear clothes that are professional and simple. Do not over do scents either. Last but not least, turn your damn phone off. Leave it in the car, if you must leave it at home so it has no possible way of going off while you are in an interview.

5. Using Twitter to stay connected with people. Twitter can be used for professional reasons as well as recreational purposes.

6. ProOpenMIC– A true PR Practitioners tool that can be used for anything PR related. Another one of the great social media networks now available, PrOpenMIC allows its users, who are mostly professionals in the PR world to connect and stay connected. The site has multiple forums that can be used. Such forums include internships, lessons, videos, groups, events, and a resources page. If you are planning on working in PR as a profession, Propenmic is a must.

7. I conducted an informational interview with a friend in New York city, who works as a publicist for People Revolution. I learned a lot about the ins and outs of her job and came to realize that I might not be working in a conventional Public Relations position after I graduate.

8. Creating a portfolio. If you are planning to impress your future employers you must have some proof of works completed in the past. This is why you create a neat, organized portfolio that will showcase the hard work you have done in the past. Keep it simple though. Bring a few small publications that can be easily handled and fit nicely into a briefcase of some sort. If you have a lot of work you would like to showcase, create an online portfolio using SlideShare and give your interviewers an address to your digital portfolio.

9. Job searching, look to all of your resources. Monster.com, the newspaper, firm’s websites, Craiglist.com, and numerous other outlets that allow you to look up job wanted ads.

10. Be careful with Facebook, we all know what it is. It is capable of so much, both good and bad. Don’t let Facebook be the reason you are not successful in getting a job.